Review | "Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell

Bono met his wife in high school, Park says.So did Jerry Lee Lewis, Eleanor answers.I’m not kidding, he says.You should be, she says, we’re 16.What about Romeo and Juliet?Shallow, confused, then dead.I love you, Park says.Wherefore art thou, Eleanor answers.I’m not kidding, he says.You should be.

Set over the course of one school year in 1986, this is the story of two star-crossed misfits—smart enough to know that first love almost never lasts, but brave and desperate enough to try. When Eleanor meets Park, you’ll remember your own first love—and just how hard it pulled you under.

My Thoughts...

I really enjoyed this book, not quite as much as Fangirl, but almost. For some reason I am not such a fan of books set in the 80's. I have no idea why....I grew up in the 80's, but it's not something I particularly enjoy reading for some reason. I know...it's weird!

Eleanor is an awkward 16 year old. She is described as being overweight with fiery, curly red hair. She is not trendy in any way. She has this way of not letting what others say about her bother her. You can tell that deep down it probably does, but she doesn't let it show. Her family life is just messed up. She lives with her mother and step dad along with a handful of siblings. Her mother is one of those women who loves her kids but she loves her husband more and that makes for a pretty bad situation for Eleanor especially.

Eleanor meets Park on the bus on first day of school. Park is a skinny, equally awkward, half Asian boy. At first they don't talk then at some point Park notices that Eleanor is reading his comic books while he reads them on the bus. Their relationship progresses slowly over the course of that year in school.

Park is adorable and he is just the perfect boy for Eleanor even though they seem so oddly matched. His mother is also one of the best characters in the book. This book has a lot of good supporting characters. This story, like all the others of Ms. Rowells that I have read, has fantastic characters that grab you from the beginning and make you care about what happens to them. I will say that I didn't care for the ending of this story particularly, and that's why I didn't end up giving it 5 stars on Goodreads. I am one of those readers that likes for the endings to be nice and tidy and this one isn't. It leads you in a certain direction and you are fairly certain that you know what happens, but it's not written down if that makes any sense!

So, I really liked the book, I don't want to say too much because I don't want to spoil it for anyone. If you like YA Contemporary then this is not a book you will want to pass over. Everyone that reads it seems to really love it!